Melissa Spencer Gessner, designer and founder of Spencer Fine Jewelry, re-invents the art of traditional jewelry portrait miniatures by pioneering the Spencer Portrait™ gemstone. These jewels are contemporary lockets of a sort, where images of loved ones are protected and preserved within a gem.

Historically, hand painted portraits in lockets were the fashion trend of nobility and royalty. Later, dogs, horses, birds, and other animals took form in Reverse Intaglio designs. The Spencer Portrait™ re-imagines the subject of these treasured objects, while maintaining their intention -- the depiction of what the heart holds most dear, forever immortalized in an authentic gemstone.

The Spencer Portraits are created through a proprietary process of projecting an image into a gemstone using natural gemstones, including Rock Crystal Quartz, Mother Of Pearl, and occasionally Diamond. The gems are then set into customizable frames of 18K Gold, and Sterling Silver, and adorned with diamonds and colored gemstones. The designs exemplify a style which draws inspiration from Egyptian, Byzantine and Victorian Eras, in conjunction with this distinctly contemporary cutting edge technique.

My career in Fine Jewelry started in 2004, when I took a class in wire wrapping gemstone beads with 18K gold wire to form earrings and necklaces, which ignited my passion for the jewelry business. After acquiring three degrees from the Gemological Institute of America, G.G., G.J., and A.J.A., and working for upscale jewelry stores in San Diego and Beverly Hills, I am now fulfilling a lifelong dream by the opening of my Beverly Hills showroom.